[A-List] Re: French Pension Strike

["J. Barkley Rosser, Jr." <rosserjb@xxxxxxx>]

     Just for the record, last year the World Health Organization
rated France as having the world's best medical care system,
high quality but reasonably affordable and available to all.
      OTOH, the US has the highest percent of GDP spent on
medical care, but is embarrassingly far down the lists on such
things as life expectancy and infant mortality rates.  But, of
course, we are attempting to impose our system on others.
       Also, of course, one is not supposed to be saying anything
nice about France at the current time, biensur....
Barkley Rosser
----- Original Message -----
From: "Henry C.K. Liu" <hliu@mindspring.com>
To: <gang8@yahoogroups.com>; <pkt@csf.colorado.edu>;
<TheNewForum@yahoogroups.com>; <a-list@lists.econ.utah.edu>
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2003 2:12 AM
Subject: French Pension Strike


> The French pension system, the foundation of European socialism, is
> again under attack.  The public is unhappy with the strikes of public
> sector workers. Neoliberal economists argue that France cannot
> competitively afford a "generous" pension system in view of globalized
> captialism in which capital always seeks regimes that does not syphon
> off return on capital to pay generous pensions.  The begger thy neighbor
> syndrome has now come home to rooste in developed economies from the
> Thrid World.  Capital flight will result if an economy does not
> sacrifice its aged.  It is the same argument Greenspan uses to tolerate
> derviative risks.  Yes, it is dangerous, but if we regulate it, the
> danger will merely move off shore, then we will still be hit by global
> contagion without even capturing the benefits of the derivative market.
>
> One of the big component of the pension system is health care cost,
> which has skyrocketed because improved medical services and treatments
> have extended longevity.  Cutting pension health payments would reverse
> this trend and let the retired die earlier, and lessen the cost burden
> of the system. Yet lowering longevity also cut consumption demand, a no
> no in an overcapacity environment.
>
> My suggestiion is if pension reduction is unavoidable because of
> political dynamics, why not introduce a senior citizen price structure,
> that any retiree can purchase all goods and services at 50% discount?
> Hollywood already has a system in place for movie admission, so does the
> National Parks system and some airline ticketing plans.  Let them cut
> the pension payment by half, but increase the purchasing power of
> retirees by 100%.  Every body would be happy.  Now that an idea worth of
> a Nobel prize.
>
> Henry C.K. Liu
>
>